Apparatus for rolling tubular fabrics

ABSTRACT

A fabric rolling device including a pair of driven rollers adapted to receive a core on which the fabric is to be rolled, a guide channel for guiding the ends of the core as the fabric is being rolled thereon, a branch channel guide device for a branch guide channel merging with the main guide channel including a retaining flap for withholding a second reserve core adapted to simultaneously feed the reserve core when the core on which the fabric has been rolled has been completed and removed.

United States Patent 1 Aronoff 1 APPARATUS FOR ROLLING TUBULAR FABRICS[76] Inventor: Edward I. Aronofi, 605 Dorais Street, St. Laurent,Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: Nov. 9, 1970 [21] App]. No.: 87,951

Related 0.8. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 695,605, Jan. 4,1968, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. ..242/66, 242/55.1, 242/67.1 [51] Int. Cl ..B65h 17/08,B65h 19/22 [58] Field of Search ..242/67.1, 66, 65, 64, 55.1

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,239,155 3/1966 Kinoshita..242/66 X 2,970,786 2/1961 Justus et a1. ..242/64 1 Feb. 27, 19733,568,944 3/1971 Besserdich ..242/66 3,286,944 11/1966 Kusel ..242/663,586,253 6/1971 Gilbank ..242/65 1,950,159 3/1934 Berry ..242/65Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz Attorney-Alan Swabey [57] ABSTRACT Afabric rolling device including a pair of driven rollers adapted toreceive a core on which the fabric is to be rolled, a guide channel forguiding the ends of the core as the fabric is being rolled thereon, abranch channel guide device for a branch guide channel merging with themain guide channel including a retaining flap for withholding a secondreserve core adapted to simultaneously feed the reserve core when thecore on which the fabric has been rolled has been completed and removed.

2 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENHEIJ 3,718,300

SHEET 10F 5 INVENTOR Edward I. ARONOFF v ATTORNEY PAIEMEB 3.718.300

INVENTOR Edward i. ARONDFF @M/JU? PATENTED FEB2 7 I973 SHEET 3 OF 5INVENTOR Edward I.' AKONOFF A TTORNEY PA NTED 3.718.300

Fla 8 M2 202 TNT- H I E? I INVENTOR Edward I. ARONOFF 'Qzwf ATTORNEYPATENTEUFEBZIISIS $718,300

' sum 5 OF 5 INVENTOR Edward I. ARONQFF ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR ROLLINGTUBULAR FABRICS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention Thepresent invention relates to a method and apparatus for treating tubularfabrics and particularly to an apparatus for slitting a tubular fabric,opening it into a web and then rolling it in web form.

2. Description of Prior Art In the manufacture of knitted goods, it isoften considered preferable to treat the fabric, i.e. for dyeing andconditioning, in the form of an elongated sleeve or what is known astubular fabrics. However, after the tubular fabric has been treated, itis then required to open the tubular fabric into a flat web so that itcan be ready for the cutting and garment-forming operations.

In the light of the particular characteristics of knitted fabrics, manyproblems arise when this operation is attempted. There are known methodsfor opening such fabrics, such as Canadian Patent No. 674,683 Pernick,which shows a slitter and an inverted triangular frame for opening theslitted fabric. Many problems still remain unsolved in handling thefabric in this operation while using the above-mentioned apparatus. Forinstance, distortion of the fabric and especially striped fabric stilloccurs at the slitting stage. As the opened web of fabric comes off theopening frame, the edges of the freshly cut fabric tend to curl and theycan get folded on the roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An aim of the present invention is to overcomethe above disadvantages.

A further aim of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus for removing the completed rolls of fabric without breakingthe continuity of the fabric as it is being advanced.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method ofopening a tubular fabric comprising the steps of advancing the tubularfabric in a flattened condition slitting one edge of the whilemaintaining transverse tension as it is being slit, opening the fabricinto a flattened web, flattening out the edges as the web is advancing,rolling the fabric on a cone and maintaining the edges of the web flatas it is fed to the roll.

The apparatus in accordance with the present invention for carrying outthe above method includes an apparatus for opening flattened tubularfabric which exhibits a pair of opposed fold edges, a supporting surfacefor supporting the flattened tubular fabric in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, means for advancing the fabric across the surface,means for cutting one fold edge of the flattened fabric, means forretaining substantial transverse tension n the fabric as it is being cutand means for advancing the fabric longitudinally across the supportingsurface as it is being cut.

Further, the apparatus can include an apparatus for opening a flattenedtubular fabric having a pair of opposed folded edges with one of thefold edges being slit and presenting two free edges, means for advancingand supporting a length of said fabric, means beneath the advancingmeans forming a point for engaging an inner side of the fabric at theunslitted fold edge, said means including a pair of diverging legsextending downwardly at an angle equal to or less than 90 the legsdefining a plane parallel to the axis of direction of movement of saidadvancing means for opening the fabric into an opened web.

Further, for maintaining the edges of the so-formed web of fabric, theinvention can include means for advancing a web of fabric to a calenderroll, means for flattening out the edges of the web and means betweenthe flattening means and the roll for maintaining the edges in aflattened condition.

Finally for rolling up the fabric, the invention can have an apparatusfor rolling a web of fabric comprising means being driven for rolling afabric on a core, means for retaining the core and the fabric beingrolled in contact with said driven means, means for delivering the coreand rolled fabric from the driven means and means for simultaneouslyfeeding a new core to the driven means as the said core and rolledfabric is being delivered.

IN THE DRAWINGS Having thus generally described the invention, the samewill now be described in more detail and reference will be made to theaccompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view of one portion of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken along line 3-- 3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section taken along line 4 4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the portion of the apparatus shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of another portion of the apparatus shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 7a is a fragmentary vertical cross-section taken along the lines7a-7a in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view of another portion of theapparatus;

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-section taken along line 9- 9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the guiding and drivearrangement for the detail in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-section taken along line 11-11 ofFIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-section taken longitudinally of the path oftravel of the web of fabric through a part of the apparatus shown inFIGS. 5 and 7;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of still anotherportion of the apparatus; and

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the portion of the apparatus shown inFIG. 13.

Referring now to FIG. I, the apparatus is shown generally on the outletside of the steam box 20. The apparatus includes a slitting table 22, anopening frame 24, the uncurler apparatus 26 and the fabric rollingapparatus 28. The fabric 18 which is in a flattened tubular form as itcomes out of the steam box 20 whereby one fold edge thereof is slit atthe slitting table 22 is open to a web on the opening frame 24. THenewly cut edges of the web of fabric 18 which tend to curl inwardly areflattened out by the uncurler apparatus 26 and then the web is wound onthe rolling device 28.

The slitting table 22, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, includes anupstanding frame 32 on which is mounted a fixed table portion 34. Thefixed table 34 includes downwardly extending flanges 35 which are atanacute angle with the table 34 to form V-shaped corners. A telescopictable portion 36, which has a similar configuration to the fixed table34, slides within the table 34 and is supported by the inwardlyextending flanges 35. On the lower part of the frame, a screw-threadedspindle 38 having a rotary handle 39 is journalled in brackets 42.Parallel guide rods 40 are also provided on either side of the spindle38. A mounting bracket 44 is slidingly mounted on the guide rods 40 andis threaded to receive the threaded spindle 38. By turning the handle39, the mounting bracket 44 is caused to advance or to recedetransversely of the direction of the travel of the fabric 18.

The mounting bracket 44 is also connected to the end of the telescopictable portion 36 so that as the bracket 44 is advanced on the guide rods40 the telescopic table portion 36 will also be advanced.

A motor 46 is also mounted on a mounting bracket 44 and mounts a rotarydisc knife 48 in a horizontal plane adjacent the edge of the telescopictable 36. A finger 49 extends from the mounting bracket 44 adjacent theedge of the disc knife 48 so as to guide the edge of the tubular fabricagainst the disc knife 48. A knife cover 50 is also mounted to thebracket 44 and covers the disc-knife.

A wire form 51 is removably mounted to the frame 32 and extends withinthe tubular fabric 18 to abut against the inner side of the other foldedge of the fabric 18 opposite the disc knife 48. This provides atransverse tension in the fabric as the fabric is being cut.

As the tubular fabric 18 is cut, it is taken up on a conveyor belt 56 tothe opening apparatus 24. The conveyor 56 includes a conveyor belt frame52 on which is mounted rollers 54. A conveyor belt 56, preferably madeof canvas, is made to travel over the rollers 54. A roller 58 is alsoprovided as shown in FIG. 3 to press the tubular fabric against theconveyor belt 56 at a point where it might tend to lift.

As the fabric 18 comes over the top of opening frame 24, it is removedfrom conveyor belt 56 by means of a take off roller 60 and in its stillfolded position, the tubular fabric 18 descends by gravity through guiderods 62. In between the guide rods 62, a pair of opening rods 68converge to form a corner 66 (rear apex). This corner 66 is adapted tocoincide with the inner side of the remaining fold edge of the slittubular fabric 18. The slit tubular fabric 18 is forced open as itpasses under the opening rods 68. The converging corner 66 of the rods68 can be connected to the front apex bracket 64 of the opening frame24. This is not shown in the drawings.

The front part of the frame 24 includes downwardly extending front framemembers 70 which are attached.

at the top to the front apex bracket 64. The front frame members extenddownwardly to the floor and the opening rods 68 diverge downwardly andare connected to the bottom thereof. A support platform 72 which is in aplane parallel to the plane defined by the opening rods 68 is mounted ona frame 77 slightly spaced from the plane of the opening rod 68. Thesupporting platform 72 is provided with an illuminating box and window74. As shown in FIG. 7a, the illuminating box 74 can include neon tubes75 which direct rays of light through the glass in the supportingplatform 72 through the web of fabric which is passing over so that aninspection can be carried out.

The web of fabric 18 leaves the opening frame 24 and travels underrollers 76 and over opposed spiral roller 78 which tends to keep thefabric in a stretched web condition.

The uncurler apparatus 26 and the fabric rolling apparatus 28 are bothmounted on the side frame members 80. In the uncurler section 26,driving spindle guide rods 82 and 86 extend in close proximity to eachother between the frame members and 80a. A threaded spindle 84, having arotating handle 85, is also provided between the side frame members 80and 800.

Of course, since this part of the apparatus is symmet-' rical, only oneside thereof will be described and any reference to the other side ofthe apparatus will be raised by the subscript a.

The gear box 88 is mounted on the driving spindle 82, threaded spindle84 and guide rods 86 for transversal movement with respect to thedirection of travel of the fabric 18. As shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11,the gear box 88 mounts an upstanding arm 90 which can be made out of twospaced-apart parallel plates 89 and 91 subtending pulleys 92, 93 and 94.A horizontally extending arm 96 is provided at the top of the verticallyextending arm 90 and is made up of two parallel plates 97 and 98 whichsubtend the pulley as well as the pulley 94. the horizontal arm 96extends transversely over the edge of the web of the fabric 18 as shownin FIG. 9.

The horizontal arm 96 is mounted to the vertical arm 90 for slightadjustment with respect to the angle relative thereto. An adjustmentscrew 99 is provided on the arm 96 and abuts against adjustmentprotrusion 100 on the arm 90. Also the locking nut 101 is provided forsecuring the horizontal arm 96 in a relative position to the verticalarm 90.

A soft endless cord or rope 102 extends over the pulleys 92, 93, 94 and95 as shown in FIG. 9. Also, an air line 104 is mounted about thehorizontal arm 96 and includes an air nozzle 106 which is pointedoutwardly in the direction of the edge of the fabric 18. It is alsonoted that the pulley 95 includes an adjustment bracket 110 which isadapted to tighten or slacken the cord 102.

The vertically extending arm 90 is connected to the gear box 88 as shownin FIG. 11. A shaft 112 extends outwardly of the gear box 88 and mountsa gear 114 which meshed with a driven gear in the gear box 88 which isconnected to the drive supplied by the drive spindle 82. The shaft 112communicates the drive to the pulley 92 which is fixed thereon andcauses the rope 102 to travel about the pulleys 92, 93, 94, and 95. Thegear box 88 is further provided with a collar 118 which defines anannular slot 120. The vertical arm 90 includes a female collar 119 whichfits over the collar 118 an has an adjustment screw 122 which is adaptedto fit in the annular groove 120. Also, it should be noted that theshaft 112 is mounted in a bearing sleeve 116.

In this way, the vertical arm 90 can pivot about the shaft 112 as shownin dotted lines in FIG. 9.

In the fabric rolling apparatus 28, two cylindrical drums 130 and 132extend between the side frame members 80 and are driven. Two sidesupport members 134, 134a are provided on either end of the cylindricaldrums 130 and 132 and each mounts a pivoting angle member 136 which ispivoted about the pivot pin 13 through the offset journal 139 on theangle member 136. The angle member 136 can pivot between a verticallyextending position in a plane extending between the cylindrical drums130 and 132 and a secc nd position which is horizontal as shown indotted lines in FIG. 14. The angle member 136 is provided with a flange144. A flange 142 also cooperates with the angle member 136 to form aguide channel when the angle member 136 in in a vertical position. Theflange 142 is integral with the side support 134. At the end of theangle member 136 is provided a flanged depression 146.

The angle member 136 is also provided with an extension 140 whichextends past the offset journal 139 and is attached to a cord 151 whichin turn is connected to -a piston of a cylinder and piston arrangement152. The cord 151 passes over the pulley 150 mounted in bracket 148 onthe side of the frame 80.

Also mounted to the side frame support member 134 is a feed channel 154which is bent at 156. The feed channel 154 includes upper flange 158 andlower flange 160. The lower flange 160 has an end curvature near thedrum 130 which is similar to the drum and which provides a guide pathfor the cores to be fed. The feed channel 154 is provided with anopening 162 at the opposite end thereof and with a restriction 168 whichis provided with a small pivoting door 169, a spring 170 and a springadjustment screw 171. This restriction 168 is provided just past thebend 156 in the feed channel 154.

A locking tooth 164 is also provided near the opening 162 and is adaptedto move between an obstruction position in the feed channel and a clearposition by means of a connecting rod 166 which connects the lockingtooth 164 to the extension 140. In operation of the rolling apparatus28, the core 172a would be present within the angle member 136 and wouldbe driven between the cylindrical drums 130, 132. The web of fabric 18is fed to the core 172a and since it is always in contact with thedriven drums 130, 132, it is rolled on this core. As the radius of theroll gets larger, the core 172a gets further and further away from thedrums 130 and 132 and moves up the angle member 136.

To review the operation of the apparatus, the tubular knitted fabric 18which has been treated, comes out of a dry steam box 20 and as it comesout of the steam box 20, it has two opposed edge folds. The edge fold isslit at the slitting table 22. As explained before, the disc knife 48 isrotated by the motor 46 and cuts the edge of the fabric. The finger 49enables the disc knife 48 to cut the fabric by retaining the edge of thefabric against the knife 48.

While the fabric travels across the slitting table 22, the wire frame 51can be used which extends within the fabric from the open side of thefabric to abut against the closed edge of the fabric to provide tensiontransversely across the fabric as it is being slit.

Of course, if it is required totreat a larger fabric, then the handle 39is turned, forcing the supporting bracket 44 to advance towards the leftin FIG. 4 which, of course, extends the telescopic table 36 to widen theeffective width of the table. Of course, the knife 48 will also be movedby moving this support bracket 44 and therefore the knife 48 will alwaysbe at the same relative spacing from the extension table 36.

The driven conveyor'56 then takes up the slit fabric which is retainedin a folded condition and moves it upwardly over the opening frame 24.As explained before, the fabric then travels down through the guide rods62 and over the comer 66 and the two open sides of the fabric then openwhile the fabric goes under opening rods 68. The fabric comes off theopening frame under roll 76 in the form of an open web.

As the web 18 travels over the uncurling apparatus, the freshly cutedges tend to curl inwardly. However, the soft rope or cord 102, whichis driven by the driven pulley 92, forces the edges to flex outwardly inview of the direction of the travel of the cord 102 as it passes overthe edge of the fabric 18. furthermore, in order to maintain the edgesin an uncurled condition just before it is rolled, an air nozzle 106 isprovided which blows air towards the edges of the uncurled fabric asshown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

When the roll is completed, the operator pulls it back upon itself andthe angle members 136 are forced into the horizontal position shown indotted lines in FIG. 14. The completed roll is then pushed out to theflanged depression 146 and the fabric is cut. ln the meantime, anauxiliary core l72b is retained in the feed channel 154 by the lockingtooth 164. As the angle member 136 is pivoted downwardly, the extension140 pushes the connecting rod 166 to pivot the locking tooth 164 toclear the core l72b which, by gravity, moves down the feed channel 154and is slowed down by the restriction device 168 and lands between thedriven cylindrical drums and 132 to take up the web of fabric 18 whichis continuously being fed. The previously wound roll is then removedfrom the flanged depressions 146 and under the air pressure in thecylinder 152, the cord 151 pulls the extension to spring the anglemembers 136 back into a vertical position.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for rolling a web of fabric comprising means driven forrolling a fabric on a core comprising a pair of driven cylindrical drumsin close parallel relation defining a rolling nest, a pair of sidesupports, means for retaining the core of the fabric being rolled incontact with the driven means including an upwardly extending anglemember pivotally mounted to said pair of side supports on either side ofthe rolling nest, the side supports including flanges defining thevertically extending channel with the angle member, the angle membersincluding extensions extending past the pivoting point, said sidesupports mounting feeding channels operatively located to feed a newcore into the rolling nest, and means operatively connecting saidfeeding channels with the extensions of the angle members to feed thenew core to the rolling nest as the angle members are pivoted into adelivery means.

2. An apparatus for rolling a web of fabric on a core comprising meansfor advancing a fabric towards a rolling zone, a pair of driven rollersin close parallel relation defining a rolling nest, means for retainingthe core in the fabric being rolled in contact wit the rollers,

including an upwardly extending angle member pivotally mounted to a pairof side supports on either side of the rollers, the side supportsincluding flanges defining vertically extending channels with the anglethe core and the rolled fabric from the driven means, when said anglemembers are pivoted to a horizontal position, and chute means forsimultaneously feeding a new core to the nest defined by the'rollers assaid core member, the angle members including extensions exand rolledfabric are being delivel'ed' tending past the pivoting point saidchannels delivering Disclaimer 3,718,300.--Edward I. Aronofi, Quebec,Canada. APPARATUS FOR ROLLING TUBULAR FAB- RICS. Patent dated Feb. 27,1973. Disclaimer filed Dec. 29, 1989, by the inventor.

The term of this patent subsequent to Dec. 31, 1989, has beendisclaimed.

[ Oflicial Gazette April 17, 1990

1. An apparatus for rolling a web of fabric comprising means driven forrolling a fabric on a core comprising a pair of driven cylindrical drumsin close parallel relation defining a rolling nest, a pair of sidesupports, means for retaining the core of the fabric being rolled incontact with the driven means inCluding an upwardly extending anglemember pivotally mounted to said pair of side supports on either side ofthe rolling nest, the side supports including flanges defining thevertically extending channel with the angle member, the angle membersincluding extensions extending past the pivoting point, said sidesupports mounting feeding channels operatively located to feed a newcore into the rolling nest, and means operatively connecting saidfeeding channels with the extensions of the angle members to feed thenew core to the rolling nest as the angle members are pivoted into adelivery means.
 2. An apparatus for rolling a web of fabric on a corecomprising means for advancing a fabric towards a rolling zone, a pairof driven rollers in close parallel relation defining a rolling nest,means for retaining the core in the fabric being rolled in contact witthe rollers, including an upwardly extending angle member pivotallymounted to a pair of side supports on either side of the rollers, theside supports including flanges defining vertically extending channelswith the angle member, the angle members including extensions extendingpast the pivoting point said channels delivering the core and the rolledfabric from the driven means, when said angle members are pivoted to ahorizontal position, and chute means for simultaneously feeding a newcore to the nest defined by the rollers as said core and rolled fabricare being delivered.